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Contempt Meet Disdain

As Congress threatens to hold current and past Administration officials in contempt of Congress for refusing to testify, the Bush Administration is threatening to order the Justice Department to simply ignore the contempt citations.

The International Herald Tribune has the details. If Congress seeks contempt charges against someone for refusing to testify or hand over materials, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia is required to empanel a Grand Jury and pursue the charges. As Congress prepares to do just that, the Bush Administration has instructed the Justice Department to ignore an charges of contempt that spawn from its broad, unprecedented assertions of executive privilege.

I have read someplace that Congress can, and at this point probably should, hold it's own trials and jail people in its basement. It sounds completely absurd of course, but perhaps it's time for that. It may also be time to pursue impeachment proceedings.

Much of this huffing and puffing stems from the Bush Administration's apparent purge of 9 U.S. Attorney's on political grounds. Something which has caused several Gonzales aides to resign over.